Ohio Third Frontier awards $500,000 to YSU and YBI

Staff report

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The Youngstown Business Incubator and Youngstown State University have been awarded $500,000 by the Ohio Third Frontier Commission.

The funding will be used to assist companies in the accelerated adoption of additive manufacturing, specifically in the printing and post processing of metal parts and components.

The initiative builds on a previous award from the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute to support the integration of AM in the foundry industry.

“This grant leverages traditional manufacturing capabilities and provides small to medium manufacturers with direct access to AM equipment, engineering design tools and expertise in printing processes,” said Barb Ewing, chief operating officer of YBI. “It really reinforces the Valley’s leadership in the field.”

With the announcement, the YBI/YSU collaboration has successfully competed for nearly $2 million in grant funding for additive manufacturing initiatives.

“This award builds upon YBI and YSU’s long history of collaboration, especially in creating inroads to help manufacturers integrate new technologies into their operations,” said Martin Abraham, dean of the YSU College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. “It also bolsters YSU’s position in education and research in additive manufacturing.”

Guha Manogharan, YSU’s technical lead and assistant professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, added: “This network allows for the further development of AM technology that will result in economic growth for the Valley. It also builds a platform for expanding into complimentary AM technologies in the future.”

The program will initially work with eight local companies and will eventually expand to include the entire state of Ohio.